Principal Program Manager - Demand Planning

We're seeking a Principal Demand Planner who enables the strategy and execution of forecasting and decision making through a strong combination of modeling, business intelligence, and market and industry trend analysis.

An ideal candidate possesses deep experience in developing data analytics, creating scenario analysis, and partnering with supply management functions. The Principal Demand Planner possesses advanced knowledge of process improvement and actively drives iteration and new learning into the inputs and methods for strategic requirement forecasting.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in demand planning and forecasting.
• Extensive experience developing demand plans and forecasts for new and existing products.
• Understanding of the impact of revenue goals, customer usage, overhead and buffer, data center space, and power availability on capacity management.
• Excellent analytical skills with the ability to meet deadlines while maintaining quality and a sense of urgency.
• Experience with forecasting and demand planning for server, storage, and networking products.
• Advanced Excel modeling skills with experience building complex forecasting models using multiple inputs to drive recommendations and decisions.
• Ability to dive deep into data while synthesizing findings and insights for executive-level communication.
• Expert-level Excel data analytics skills to drive action and outcomes.
• Experience working with Vice Presidents and executive leadership.
• Experience with infrastructure hardware, including memory, CPUs, JBODs, servers, and related technologies.
• Ability to read and interpret product BOMs and technical documentation.

 

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous cloud experience.
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity and make high-judgment decisions from ambiguous situations.
• Ability to translate large amounts of data into useful information and draw meaningful conclusions.
• Experience maintaining key operational metrics that measure demand planning performance and drive continuous improvement.
• Experience building and improving business processes.
• Ability to work with technical and non-technical business owners to overcome obstacles and deliver results.
• 7+ years of experience using Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook, and Access).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present complex information clearly and concisely to a variety of audiences.
• Ability to meet tight deadlines and prioritize workloads effectively.
• Working proficiency in SQL.

Responsibilities

• Develop, iterate, and maintain end-to-end long-range demand planning models at the customer, initiative, SKU, and geo level. The plan will allow the team to correctly predict product demand and provide Supply Chain with the appropriate information to meet customer demand.
• Build demand plans based on strategic goals, business trends, and inputs from stakeholders. Interact with Engineering, Customer Management, Product Management, Networking, Data Center, and Finance teams to understand demand requirements.
• Socialize demand plans with senior leaders in Capacity Planning and Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, Customer Management, and Finance to achieve alignment.
• Identify demand forecast risks and develop prioritized, effective, flexible, and durable mitigation strategies.
• Facilitate a healthy balance between long-range planning and short-term execution. Understand end-to-end supply chain flow to help ensure customer demand is met.
• Collaborate with Product Management to understand product lifecycle, transitions, and how they impact forecasting.
• Provide direct inputs and analysis of demand data to management, Finance, and operational teams in creating and maintaining the corporate S&OP process.
• Develop routine and ad hoc demand analyses and reports for senior management.
• Maintain demand planning review processes to improve forecast accuracy.
• Demand planning is both science and art. It is critical to understand how to translate business strategy into forecasting models, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
• Work with Business Intelligence teams to translate planning processes into system models to determine and plan resource needs that meet capacity and performance requirements.

Leading contributor individually and as a team member, providing direction and mentoring to others.  Sought out as an expert within the team and organization. Able to operate in fast pace, ambiguous environment. Work is non-routine and very complex, involving the application of advanced technical/business skills in the area of product lifecycle management. Ability to work in a dynamic environment as shown by the ability to demonstrate resilience in driving change. Proven Communication skills with the ability to gain broad support and buy-in for initiatives from key stakeholders. Prefer 8 years relevant experience and BA/BS degree.